


play me a song, your newest one (please leave your taste on my tongue)

by pixel_perfect



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:28:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22094107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixel_perfect/pseuds/pixel_perfect
Summary: the ups and downs of life or the rina college fic that nobody asked for
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter
Comments: 8
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

It comes as a surprise when Ricky Bowen knocks on her bedroom window. Gina is laying in bed, listening to music. She almost falls off the bed when she sees him standing there, waiting for her to open it. He’s crazy if he actually thinks she’s going to let him inside. It’s late and she’s tired. She turns to look at him, his eyebrows are raised and something tells her he’s not going to leave. What was he even doing there anyway? She rolls her eyes, tosses the covers and opens the window.

“Hello.” He’s all smiles. She’s annoyed with him for disturbing her.

Why was he smiling? Did he not own a watch? It was late, he shouldn’t even be there. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ricky, what are you doing here?” She let’s out a deep sigh.

“I know it’s late, but you didn’t go to class this morning and I was worried.”

“So you decided to come to my house, uninvited and late at night?” She sits on her bed and he follows.

“In my defense, I didn’t have your number.” He points out.

“Are you keeping tabs on me?” She faces him. “I don’t need you worrying or wondering or coming to my house late at night when you don’t see me, Ricky.”

“I was worried about you, Gina.” He looks down at the floor.

“I know, I heard you the first time. I don’t need you worrying about me though. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sorry.” He gets up from the bed.

“Go home, Ricky.” She opens the window and he climbs out.

“Good night, Gina.”

* * *

She plops down on her seat the next day. She has a headache and just wants the day to be over. Sadly, it’s ten in the morning and something tells her it’s going to be a long day. She puts her head on the table and falls asleep. She hears Ricky calling her name but ignores him. Sleep is what she needs at the moment and she welcomes it with open arms. The bell rings and when she wakes up, she finds that Ricky wrote down her notes for the day. She tosses her notebook into her backpack and walks out of the room.

She finds Ashlyn sitting down on the couch, in the lounge. She’s reading a book and drinking coffee.

“You look terrible.” Ashlyn looks up from her book and makes room for Gina on the couch.

“I love you too, Ash.” Gina rolls her eyes and rests her head on Ashlyn’s lap, legs hanging off the couch.

“What’s wrong?” Ashlyn closes her book and starts to play with Gina’s hair.

“I didn’t sleep well last night. R...” She almost tells her about Ricky but bites her tongue and decides against it.

“What else were you gonna say?” Ashlyn asks.

“Uhh...rough night.” Her eyes are closed and Ashlyn’s fingers feel good in her hair.

Ashlyn goes back to reading her book, reading it out loud, per Gina’s request as the girl tries to sleep. Her next class isn’t for another hour so she has time to kill. Her eyes open when she hears Ricky’s voice and she gets up from the couch immediately. Ashlyn drops her book and almost chokes on her coffee.

“I’m sorry.” Gina calls out, grabbing her backpack and walking to where Ricky is standing.

He’s leaning against the wall, talking to Nini. Of course he’s talking to Nini. He’s always talking to Nini. The girl eyes Gina carefully, startled by the her presence. Ricky watches her with wonder and curiousity in his eyes. Ricky and Gina weren’t friends. They were in a musical together once upon a time but that didn’t mean anything. People like Ricky just didn’t hang out with people like Gina, so it was no surprise when Ricky couldn’t believe Gina was standing across from him, willingly.

“We need to talk.” Gina says flatly and doesn’t move.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something.” He motions towards Nini.

Nini grabs her books and looks from one person to the other. “Don’t worry about it, Ricky. We can talk later.” She walks away and disappears into the crowd.

“She’s gone. Now can we talk?”

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?” Ricky puts his hands in his pockets and steps closer, breaking the distance between them.

“I don’t need you doing me any favors.”

“What are you talking about?” He lets out a deep sigh.

She takes out her notebook and hands it to him. “I don’t need you doing me any favors and I’d appreciate it if you left me alone.”

He doesn’t even bother looking at her notebook and ignores her request. “Can I just ask why you hate me so much? What’s going on with you, Gina?”

He’s inches from her face. She can smell his cologne and steps back. “I mean it, Ricky. Just leave me alone.”

She leaves him standing there and walks out of the lounge. She decides to go home and skips out on her next class and drives off when she gets in her car.

* * *

Her mom is gone when she gets home. She’s thankful for the peace and quiet and finds a note on the kitchen counter. Looks like she has the house to herself this weekend. She heads to her room, changes into more comfortable clothing and receives a text from Ashlyn.

Ash:Heading to your house after class. Watch a movie?

She replies and goes to the kitchen to prepare snacks. Gina gets fruits and vegetables out of the fridge, dices the fruit into cubes and arranges the vegetables on a plate. She mixes the fruit into a bowl, adds lime and stores it in the refrigerator so it can be nice and cold when Ashlyn arrives.

She looks at the time on her phone and notices that her phone is dying. She goes back to her room to get her charger and is startled by what, or rather who she finds.

Ricky is sitting there, waiting for her to open the window. He has a cold look in his eyes. This couldn’t be. What did he want now? She opens the window and he steps in like he owns the place.

“Your room looks different during the day.” He says casually and looks at the books on her shelf.

“Is this going to become a habit for you? What are you doing here?” She looks around the room.

“You and I didn’t finish our conversation earlier.” He takes a few steps towards her. “We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” She steps back, her back crashing into the wall. “You can’t be here and you can’t just show up like this. You need to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He leans back against the wall.

“Ricky, I’m serious. You can’t be here, okay?”

“Why not?”

“Because, you just can’t. You...”

She’s interrupted when Ashlyn shows up, outside her room. Her eyebrows are furrowed. “Am I interrupting something? What are you two doing?”

Gina and Ricky look at one another, unable to say a word. Great.


	2. Chapter 2

“Well?” Ashlyn goes inside Gina’s room and raises an eyebrow.

“I was...”

“He was just leaving.” Gina chimes in, her voice is shaky.

Ricky looks at her with confusion in his eyes but quickly gets the hint. He doesn’t want to cause trouble for Gina. He knows she’ll get questioned by Ashlyn and curses under his breath. Ashlyn’s eyes bore into him and he looks away.

“Yeah, I was just...leaving.”

Gina let’s out a deep sigh and Ashlyn leaves them. She heads to the living room but gives Gina a look, before she leaves.

“What are you gonna tell her?”Ricky puts a hand on his neck.

“The truth?” Gina rubs her forehead with her thumb. “I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t want her to think something is going on between us, when there’s not.”

“I’m sorry.” He paces around the room. “You could just tell her I came to give you some notes you missed from the other day.”

“Okay, sure. But she found us inches apart and the notes are nowhere in sight. She’s not going to believe me.”

“I should go.” Ricky walks to the window. “I really hope she doesn’t give you a hard time.”

“Yeah, that makes two of us.”

Ashlyn is sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine. Gina takes slow steps, in hopes of not having to talk about Ricky. She knows that’s impossible. Ashlyn will want to know everything and she doesn’t blame her.

“Finally.” Ashlyn sets the magazine on the coffee table. “I was getting worried.”

“Don’t, I’m okay.” Gina sits on the couch.

“So, are you gonna tell me what happened in there?” Ashlyn turns to look at Gina. “What was Ricky Bowen doing in your room?”

“Nothing. He just...don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, cool.” She raises an eyebrow and bites her lip. “So there’s nothing going on between you two?”

Gina laughs out loud, dramatically. “Really? Of course not! I wouldn’t be with Ricky if he was the last man on earth.”

Ashlyn gives her a look that tells her she’s not convinced. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I’ll wait until you’re ready, but just know I’m here, okay?”

“Yeah, I know. But there’s really nothing going on between us.” She hopes that’s convincing enough. She knows it’s true but Ashlyn doesn’t and she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her day talking about Ricky Bowen.

She doesn’t sleep much that night. She tosses and turns and thinks about Ricky. How dare he show up and mess with her head. She was going to put a stop to this. Monday morning, things were going to change.

* * *

  
She sits down on Monday morning and rests her head on her English book. Ricky walks in shortly after and sits beside her. He smiles and puts his jacket on the chair. After getting settled in, Gina scoots closer to Ricky.

“I think we need to put distance between us.” She whispers and he lets out a small laugh. “This isn’t funny, I’m serious.” She’s a bit offended.

“That’s gonna be a little hard, don’t you think?” He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.

“Why would that be hard?” She isn’t following.

“Because we’re partners, Gina.”

“What?” She’s a little too loud and people turn around to stare at the pair.

“You would know that if you didn’t sleep in class.” She can tell he’s having a little too much fun with this.

She gets up from her chair and walks to her Professor’s desk. He’s typing on his laptop and doesn’t even look up when she stands in front of him.

“Professor McKay, could I speak to you for a minute?” Gina rubs her arm.

The man lets out an exasperated sigh and adjusts his glasses. He closes his laptop and rests his chin on his hand.

“What can I help you with, Miss Porter?”

“Can I talk to you about this project? I don’t think I can work with Ricky.” Her voice is small.

“Mr. Bowen is an exceptional student. I’m afraid you can’t switch partners.” He takes off his glasses and opens a drawer, getting out a slip of paper. “Now, if you can’t handle working with him, I’m afraid this class isn’t for you. This project is a big part of your grade, Miss Porter. Please be wise.”

“Yes sir.” She sits back down and tries to focus on the project.

“I know you hate me, for whatever reason that might be, but...” Ricky scratches his head.

“I don’t hate you, Ricky. I mean not necessarily. I just,”

“It doesn’t matter, okay? Lets just work on this so you don’t have to interact with me as much ever again.”

There was a sadness in his voice and Gina couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to work with him, she just didn’t trust him. He wasn’t the same person he was, years ago and they had drifted apart. They were different people now, strangers. She wonders when everything changed and knows deep in her heart that things can’t go back to how they were, ever again.

* * *

  
“It’s not gonna be so bad, Gina.” Ashlyn scans the bookshelf and finds the book she’s looking for. “Before you know it, the project will be over and you won’t have to deal with Ricky Bowen again.”

“I hope you’re right, Ash.” Gina leans back against the wall. “I wish you would’ve told me about this project, though.”

“I thought you knew.” Ashlyn’s voice is a harsh whisper. “It’s not like you asked me. So stop sulking and deal with it.”

The girls leave the library and each head to their cars to go home. Ashlyn was now out of sight, having parked on the other side of the parking lot and Gina runs to her car. To her terrible luck, her car won’t start when she turns the ignition.

The sky is dark and roaring. She looks up, knowing it’ll rain soon and hopes she’s out of the parking lot and safely home, when it does. She doesn’t know anything about cars and curses under her breath when her car does nothing. She slams her fists on the steering wheel and gets out of the car. Soon enough, it starts to rain and in seconds, it starts to pour.

He comes to her rescue, minutes later. It’s unexpected. The parking lot was empty, and yet, here he was.

“Get in!” He rolls down the window and yells.

“No, I can fix this! I don’t need your help!” The water is getting inside Gina’s eyes, making it difficult to see.

“Don’t be stubborn! You’re gonna get sick, please!” He continues. There’s no way he’s leaving her here. “Gina, if you don’t get in this car, I’m going to get out and carry you in myself!”

He won’t do it. He’s bluffing, she knows. But the look in his eyes tells her otherwise and he’s out of the car and walking towards her, in seconds. He grabs her wrists and carries her over his shoulder. It’s easy. As much as she kicks and yells, she doesn’t put up much of a fight.

“Let go of me!” She yells, punching his upper back.

“You know most people would say thank you!” He ignores her plea.

“I’m not like most people.” She fights back.

“I know.” He grunts as she keeps punching him.

He opens the door, sets her down and puts her seatbelt on. They’re soaking wet and she knows he’s right, but Gina is stubborn and doesn’t want to admit it. She doesn’t want to give him that pleasure. There’s nothing left to do but accept his offer, so she settles in her seat and accepts the ride from Ricky Bowen.

He stops the car and rests his arm on the steering wheel. Despite the awkward silence, the ride to Gina’s house isn’t terrible. He turns to face her and wipes her cheek with his thumb. She backs away and opens the door. It’s still raining outside and she runs inside and closes the door. He’s still out there, when she checks through the window. Gina watches as he drives away and closes the blinds shortly after.

When it stops raining, she calls Ashlyn and tells her everything that happened. Ashlyn offers to take her back to the school parking lot to pick up her car and Gina waits in the living room for the girl to pick her up. There’s a knock on the door and Gina gets up to answer it. She’s surprised when she does because the person standing in front of her isn’t who she expects to see.

“E.J., what are you doing here?”

“Ash, couldn’t make it so I offered to drive you.” He rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.” She grabs her jacket and keys and locks the door behind her.

She’s used to hanging out with E.J. His parents aren’t around very much and when they don’t have class, he spends most of his time with Ashlyn. He hands Gina the aux cable and Gina puts music on. The car ride is fun. They’re both singing at the top of their lungs and what Gina felt when she was with Ricky, vanishes.

* * *

When they arrive to school, E.J. parks his car and opens the trunk. He connects jumper cables and within minutes, gets Gina’s car moving. Gina smiles and pulls him in for a hug.

“Thank you!” She says and lets go.

“Not a problem.” E.J. smiles and looks up at the sky. “Hey, Gina?”

“Yeah?” She gets in her car and puts her seatbelt on.

“Would you like to grab a bite to eat?” E.J. rests his hand on her car door.

“Sure. You wanna follow me?”

“Yeah.” He heads to his car and follows Gina.

They arrive to a karaoke bar and find a quiet table, far away from everyone else. They look over the menu as a waiter brings them chips and salsas. That’s when she sees him. E.J. notices and turns his head in that direction. He’s with Nini and Big Red, a few tables away from them.

“We can leave if you want.” E.J. looks at the girl and sees how uncomfortable she looks.

“No, I really like this place. We’re staying.” She’s determined and isn’t going to let Ricky Bowen ruin her evening.

Ricky walks to their table when they’re eating. Nini and Big Red stay close behind. Ricky looks from Gina to E.J., not caring that he’s interrupting them.

“Hey, Gina. Funny running into you here.” He crosses his arms.

“Not really.” Gina looks at E.J. and continues eating.

“I’m glad I did though. We need to talk about our project.”

“Do you mind?” E.J. speaks up and pushes his plate away. “We’re eating and we’d like to continue doing that, in peace.”

“I do mind, actually.” Ricky puts a hand on the table. “I was talking to her, Caswell, not you.”

“Could you please just go.” Gina’s voice is low.

“I’ll go after we talk.” Ricky looks down at her.

“She told you to go, man.” E.J. is losing his patience.

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do, E.J.” Ricky’s eyes are dark.

E.J. gets up from his seat and touches Ricky’s shoulder. “C’mon, you’re out of here.”

“Hey, man! Don’t touch me!” Ricky swings, his fist hitting E.J. in the eye.

E.J. stumbles and punches Ricky. His lip is bleeding and soon enough, chaos occurs. Big Red gets between them and tries to break up the fight. Gina is by E.J.’s side and wraps her hand around his waist.

“Get him out of here!” She looks at Nini. “Now!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, its been a while but i'm back and plan to continue this! i hope you enjoy. kudos and comments are welcome! follow me on tumblr @maad-maxx

  
  


  
"This is going to sting a little." Gina puts gloves on and gently presses a cloth dipped in alcohol to E.J's bloody lip.

The man winces and closes his eyes for several moments. Gina can't help but feel guilty over the previous events and soon enough, E.J. notices. It comes in the way she lets out a sigh and clears her throat. She didn't know why Ricky had acted the way he did but she knew that E.J. wasn't his personal punching bag.

"Don't." E.J. opens his eyes and locks them with Gina's. "This isn't your fault."

"This isn't how I planned my evening to go." Gina rubs ointment on E.J.'s lip and hands him a bag of frozen peas for his injured eye.

"Yeah," E.J. chuckles. "That makes two of us."

"I can talk to him if you want?" Gina offers as she sits on the kitchen counter. "He can't do something like this and expect to get away with it."

The pair is silent. E.J. thinks it over and Gina takes that as a good sign. She has several things she'd like to say to Ricky and this incident is the best opportunity to do so. But E.J. has other plans and decides against it, much to her disappointment.

"Leave it." E.J. shakes his head. "This'll heal in a few days." He points to his eye and tosses the frozen peas in the sink and joins Gina by the counter. "It's not worth it, Gi."

"Caswell, c'mon." Gina pleads. "He can't just..."

"It doesn't matter anymore." E.J. interjects, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just try to ignore him as best you can, okay?"

Gina lets out a forced laugh and rolls her eyes. She hadn't told him about the project she was forced to work on with him. She wouldn't be able to ignore him even if she tried.

"I can't do that." Gina's voice is a whisper. 

She can't believe she has to say these words out loud and the look on E.J.'s face is a mix of confusion and anger.

"Why not?" He furrows his eyebrows.

"I have to do an English project that's worth half my grade." Gina informs him. "And Ricky's my partner."

* * *

"Are you really that dumb?" Nini presses a pack of ice to Ricky's black eye. "You almost got us kicked out of the restaurant!"

"Easy!" Ricky glares as best as he can with his good eye and grunts. "It's not a big deal."

"Are you kidding me?" Nini is losing her patience. "You got really angry all of a sudden and punched E.J. in the face, Ricky." She washes her hands and dries them with a small towel. "That's a pretty big deal if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't ask you." Ricky's voice is low. 

Nini seems to be unbothered by his comment. She's known him long enough to know not to be offended by things he says when he knows he did something wrong.

"Why did you do it, Ricky?" Nini's voice is softer now. "Why did you get so angry?"

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Ricky laughs and looks down at the floor. "I don't know."

There's a sincerity in his voice but Nini isn't convinced in the slightest. She raises an eyebrow and scratches her neck, a habit she does when she knows someone isn't being honest. But despite it all, Ricky really has no clue why he acted the way he did. He knows he messed up and possibly ruined any chance of getting on Gina's good side. He was going to have to work and dig deep to find the root of his anger. But first, he had to apologize to Gina and that would be the hardest part of all.

* * *

It feels awkward, forced and everything in between. Gina isn't saying anything, despite really wanting to. She could easily put Ricky in his place, but for E.J.'s sake, she bites her tongue. She can feel Ricky's gaze on her as she writes things down in her notebook for the project.

"Is this how it's gonna be?" Ricky breaks the silence. He sounds tired and bored of the situation. "Are you not ever gonna talk to me?"

"What's the point?" Gina looks up and closes her notebook. "There's no point in talking to you."

"What do you want from me, Gina?" Ricky gets up from his chair. "You want me to apologize? I've been meaning to do that."

"Okay, go ahead." Gina crosses her arms and leans back in her chair. "Nothing you say will erase what you did, but go on."

Ricky rubs the back of his neck, knowing she's right but apologizes anyway. "I'm sorry." He begins. "I don't know what came over me and that's not an excuse." He sighs and runs a hand through his messy curls. "It won't happen again." 

Gina rolls her eyes, gathers her things and walks away. "I'm done." He hears her say before he runs after her.

The halls are deserted and he's glad to be out of that room. Gina picks up her pace and walks to the parking lot, with Ricky close behind. People stare at them but Ricky doesn't care, because in order for this to work, he needs Gina to forgive him.

"How mad is your boyfriend?" 

The question makes Gina stop in her tracks and turn around. She faces him, a coldness in her eyes. E.J. is by no means her boyfriend and a part of her wants to come clean and correct Ricky, help him rearrange the words that have come out of his mouth. But that feeling vanishes rapidly because she doesn't need to come clean or explain herself. Ricky is a nobody.

"I need to go home, Ricky." Gina's voice sounds tired. "We can continue working tomorrow."

Gina gets in her car and drives away, leaving Ricky standing there in the now abandoned parking lot. Progress had been made. Gina hadn't completely forgiven him yet, but he had managed to get more than two words out of her, which he considers a win. Tomorrow would be another day, a new beginning.

* * *

Gina grabs a slice of cucumber, sprinkles lime juice and takes a bite. Ashlyn continues stirring the pot of rice that she's preparing for dinner.

"Looks like I missed out." Ashlyn lowers the heat on the stove and covers the pot with a lid. "I wish I could've seen that."

"I wish I could unsee it." Gina informs Ashlyn of the fight that broke out the day before between Ricky and her cousin." I don't know what came over him, Ash." Gina confesses. "I've never seen Ricky act that way before."

"Has he apologized?" Ashlyn leans against the counter.

"Yeah, but it doesn't change what he did." Gina shrugs. "His apology doesn't mean anything."

"So you didn't forgive him?" Ashlyn raises an eyebrow.

"Not really." Gina's voice is cold.

* * *

"Gina forgave me." Ricky smiles, proud of himself. "Before you know it, things with Gina and I will be like they once were."

"Ricky, why do you care what Gina thinks of you?" Big Red plops down on the couch and rests his head on the arm rest.

Ricky thinks it over, silence overtaking the room. He isn't completely sure why he cares so much. He and Gina had drifted apart years ago and nothing had been the same since. They both went their seperate ways and now, unfortunately, they were like strangers.

"I guess I just wanna know why she hates me so much." Ricky lets out a sigh and joins Big Red on the couch.

"I wouldn't say she hates you." Big Red tries to ease the situation. "She just..."

"Doesn't talk to me and can't stand to even look at me?" Ricky interrupts and scoffs. "What would you call that then?"

"Can you blame her?" There's annoyance in Big Red's voice. "You left to Chicago for a while after graduation and ghosted her." The redhead rolls his eyes. "She didn't know where you were and to top it all off, you came back worse than when you left."

"That's not true!" Ricky is offended. "I'm the same guy I've always been." He doesn't know who he's trying to convince, him or his best friend but whoever it is, it isn't working.

"Whatever man." Big Red stands up and heads to the door. "All I'm saying is Gina really cared about you and what you gave in return was utter disappointment."

Ricky presses his head to the wall, knowing Big Red was right. He had never stopped to think how he made those around him feel. His parent's divorce had taken a toll on him, something he hadn't handled well and Gina had once been there to pick up the broken pieces. He needed to make things right. She needed to know that he was no longer the person he once was. He appreciated her and he would prove it.

* * *

"Good morning, Gina." Ricky greets her with a small smile the next day in the parking lot. "How's it going?" She's distracted and scrambling through her backpack.

"Not now, Ricky." Gina opens all the pockets and finds nothing.

"Sorry, I was just..." Ricky begins.

"Gi, you forgot your notebook in my car!" E.J. runs and sure enough, Gina smiles.

"You've just saved my life!" Ricky has never seen Gina smile that way and that forms a knot in his stomach.

"Not a problem." E.J. says. "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Of course." Gina nods and swings her backpack over her shoulder.

E.J. hugs the girl, gives her a kiss on the forehead and waves, wishing her good luck. Ricky watches him leave and the expression on Gina's face change when she sees him waiting for her.

"You're still here?" She walks and Ricky follows.

"I wanna talk to you." Ricky walks beside her, not missing a beat.

"You know for two people that have nothing to talk about, you sure do plenty of talking." Gina stops walking. "You could've also apologized to E.J. too."

"I didn't wanna interrupt." Ricky shrugs. "You two seemed pretty busy."

He pulls out a wrapped blueberry muffin from his backpack and hands it to Gina. She takes it hesitantly, not knowing what to do with herself. Blueberry muffins are her favorite and she's surprised Ricky remembered that about her.

"I wanna start over with you." Ricky's voice is pleading. "I want this to work."

"I'm not following." Gina shakes her head.

"Look, I'm not gonna pretend we're friends, okay?" Ricky explains and a nervousness begins to consume him. "I wanna be, but for now, let's just be partners. What do you think?" He waits for Gina to answer.

"Partners?" Gina raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, for the project." Ricky stuffs his hands in his pockets. "We'll be done with this assignment in about three weeks and after that, you can go back to ignoring me." He scoffs. "So, do we have a deal?" He sticks out his hand for her to shake.

Gina thinks it over for a few moments and for the sake of a good workspace, agrees with Ricky. Before she knew it, the three weeks would fly by and just as he said, she would go back to ignoring him. After all, they weren't even friends so no harm done.

"Gina?" Ricky repeats himself and she realizes she hasn't answered his question.

She clears her throat and looks at him, determination in her voice. "Deal." The pair shake on it and Gina smiles.

Three weeks. Three weeks and this would be over. The countdown began. Now.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! kudos and comments are welcome. i’m on tumblr @maad-maxx


End file.
